Marine signal



June 14, 1938. DEKER 2,120,736

MARINE SIGNAL Filed July 15, 1936 2 Shee1 ;s-Sheet 1 E 4. 1mm

June 14, 1938. J. a. DECKER MARINE SIGNAL Filed July 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT caries I MARINE SIGNAL Application July 15, 1936, Serial No. 90,811

7 Claims.

This invention relates to signals and particularly to signals of the pyrotechnic type primarily intended for marine distress use. a

It is a general object of the present invention 0 to provide novel and improved signal equipment of the pyrotechnic type.

An important object of the invention consists in the provision of fixed ammunition for signalling. purposes provided with novel igniting means greatly facilitating its use under extremely adverse conditions.

An important object of the invention resides in the provision of a mortar for use in firing the fixed ammunition and which is so constructed that it can not be used except at a predetermined position on the deck of a boat whereby use of the signalling equipment as a weapon to intimidate officers of the ship is entirely prevented.

An important feature of the invention consists in the arrangement of igniting means for the propelling charge for-the signal projectile so as to provide a delayed action, for the safety of the operator, and which does not require the use of matches or other equipment difiicuit to handle in high winds, rain and spray conditions.

A further important feature of the invention consists in the provision of a mortar for firing signal cartridges which comprises a relatively light barrel open at" both ends and normally adapted for stowing with the cartridges, together with a breech closure for one end of said barrel which is arranged for permanent mounting on a suitable portion of a boat or vessel with simple means for securing the barrel in position on the breech when it is required for use.

Further features reside in the details of construction of the various elements of the combination comprising the signalling system.

Other and further objects and features not 40 specifically enumerated above will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying drawings and following specification wherein are disclosed sev-v eral exemplary embodiments of the invention with .the understanding that various changes may be made therein such as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section showing a mortar loaded with a cartridge, all constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-'-2 of I Fig. 1;"

Fig. 3 is a side. elevation of a cartridge adapted for use in the mortar of Figs. 1 and 2; I

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through another type of cartridge for similar use;

Fig. 5 is a view partly in vertical section of a cartridge and a, portion of the mortar showing another form of igniting means for the propelling charge;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a'hand type'of signal;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating another type of mortar and cartridge;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a. breech loading mortar intended for use with a. conventional type cartridge shell;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a vertical section on line Ill-40 of Fig. 8.

The problem of providing adequate and yet compact signal equipment particularly for marine use on small boats as well as on ships has been an aggravating one for a long time. Various solutions have been submitted and a great deal of equipment of various types used and some fairly successfully. Most of the earlier forms of signal equipment, aside from the make-shift expedient of a fire onthe deck, have involved pyrotechnic equipment of the simpler forms such as rockets, colored fires, roman candles and the like. Each of these devices has its faults and primarily they involve danger of fire to the boat or ship. In the case of rockets there occurs the well-known difiiculty of controllingthe path of flight, the extreme difiiculty of igniting fuses under adverse weather conditions, the difficulty of maintaining the signal equipment dry at all times, the danger of burns from the propellant, etc.

In recent years some advances have been made by using signals projected from fire arms. The old Very pistol, so well-known from'itsuse during the World War, has been suggested and put to some use and some modern improvements on this pistol and its ammunition have found favor with boat and ship owners and with the regua lating authorities, but recent conditions among American and foreign maritime labor have made' it seem 'I'irable to shipping interests and to those in authority on board ship not to have available to members of the crew, whose loyalty to the ofiicers is not always the best, such po-- tentially dangerous weapons as the portable fire arms used for signalling purposes. These fire arms are of large bore and while the projectile '.may not have a high velocity, it is nevertheless of considerable size and weight and is potentially dangerous both-from the standpoint of injuring oflicers toward whom it may be projected and because of the extreme danger from fire resulting from the type of signal flare used in some of the ammunition which will burn for more than 30 seconds even under water and without access to air.

The present invention contemplates improvements in signalling equipment which take advantage of simplified fixed ammunition of the Very pistol type and yet which do not permit of the use of the firing means as a portable weapon under any conditions.

To carry out this particular feature of the invention it seems desirable to provide, instead of a portable fire arm, one which must be fixed permanently tothe deck, or similar portion of the ship and whichhas a fixed direction of fire relative thereto. For convenience of use on small boats, ships life boats, fishing boats and the like where space is at a premium and cost mustbe kept low, a mortar-like device can be provided in which the barrel is removable and can be stowed away along with the cartridges, not only to be no hindrance to the normal use of the boat, but, to prevent it from becoming damaged or lost. This barrel takes the simple form of a tube open at both ends which cannot then be used as a portable weapon. The breech must be closed by a breech plate which is permanently secured to a desired portion of the boat and to which the barrel can be conveniently attached by simple connecting means when use is to be made of it.

Various ways suggest themselves for igniting the propelling charge in the fixed ammunition and the invention is not to be considered as limited to the examples usedby way of illustration only.

The preferred form of the invention in its general aspects is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3' of the drawings wherein the mortar barrel is shown at Ill and consists of a thin-walled, preferably seamless, drawn tube of some non-corroding metal. Great strength is not required and brass or aluminum is suitable. Both ends of the bar-. rel are fully open. One'end of the barrel is adapted-tube closed when it is mounted on the combined breech and mounting plate l2. As

seen in Figs. 1 and 2 this plate .I2 is a casting preferably of some non-ferrous metal and comprises a main fiat portion supporting the raised breech plug portion II which has tapered walls II to closely engage the interior walls of the lower end of the barrel. Supported from the base plate by suitable integral bracket arms I5 is the ring I 6 vertically spaced from the plate and perforated as at II to closely receive the exterior of the barrel. The spaced engagement of the barrel by the ring and the breech plug provide adequate rigid support to hold the same in position on the breech plate but to prevent the forceof the explosion from loosening the barrel it is preferred to provide a pin l8 thereon which can be passed through the slot I! ,in the ring [6 and rotated out of alignment therewith forming a suitable lock.

The breech plate and support is of rugged construction and can be secured permanently to the deck, the upper surface of a thwart, the gunwale of asmall boat or to the rail of a ship by means of screws 20 or other fastening means and the construction is such that it cannot become fouledwith refuse in such a manner that it will not readily receive the barrel, for the space beneath -match box.

the ring is open and maintained clean by wind and rain. The fitting is but little in the way and not subject to damage by normal usage of the boat. The barrel is intended to be stored away when not desired for use and can be conveniently kept in the water-tight box provided to store the ammunition. ing the breech and mounting the barrel on the breech plate may be used in place of that shown for the purposes of this application.

It may be mentioned here, that the devices of the present invention are primarily intended for use on the life boats of larger vessels where the requirements for signalling equipment are rigidly enforced by national authority.

Fig. 3 illustrates one form of ammunition for use with the mortar. It is of the fixed type, i. 0., it combines both the propelling charge and the projectile in a unit, incased in a suitable tube 25 which may be either of metal of suitable fibrous material such as paper, cardboard or the like. The lower end is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, by a wooden plug 26, although if a metal tube is used an integral drawn bottom closure would be desirable. The tube is preferably almost as 'long as the mortar barrel so that when empty Other means for clos A suitable charge 21 of propelling explosive is Z placed in the tube above the base plug and is adapted to be ignited in any one of various ways. As shown in Fig. 1 an elongated metal eyelet 28 passes through the wall of tube 25 and is tightly packed with a slow burning powder 29. Covering the outer end of this eyelet is a pellet 30 of fric- 'tion ignitable pyrotechnic composition so that the charge may be ignited by simply scratching this composition with a complementary substance such as that found on the side of a safety To provide for conveniently igniting the pellet under adverse conditions and by persons unacquainted with its use, it is preferred to continue the same composition in a circumferential train 3| completely about the exterior of the tube; This band is preferably of about $4 in width. Any portion of it being ignited causes the flame to follow the train and ignite the slow fuse in the eyelet, thereby setting off the charge 21 after a suitable interval which allows the operator to move away a sufficient distance from the mortar so as not to be burned by the flash.

To allow for accessto the friction ignitable train on the surface of the cartridge, an elongated slot 32 is provided in the wall of themortar tube at a suitable position in respect to its length so that the train registers approximately with the center of the slot when the cartridge. is in the bottom of the mortar barrel. Conveniently a plug 33 is normally mounted in the upper end of the tube 25 with a loose friction fit, has a flange 34 to limit its movement into the tube and is provided with a projecting'stud 35 coated on its outer surface with material 36 suitable for scratching and igniting the friction train. This stud is of less diameter than the width of the slot so that it can be extended through the'slot to. scratch the friction ignitable material as previously described.

. portion. 38 extending up to the band 39 of the same material surrounding the flange 34 on the scratcher -plug and "securing it in position by overlapping the end of the tube 25. A further portion 4li-forms 'a hood over the scratcher plug.

. 54 crimped over the lower end. of the tube as' shown at 55 and containing an eyelet 56 of the.

to protect it. Although the igniter train and the scratcher material are absolutely water-proof and will light under water, it is considered a valuable safety feature to cover them with the material .just described to prevent accidental ignition when a number of the cartridges are placed in a case or packing boxand this tape is for that purpose' It is provided with a tab M to be grasped by the operator to tear all of the tape loose prior to removing the scratcher plug and dropping the cartridge into the mortar. v

It will be appreciated that the mortar cannot be used except in-its mounted position since the barrel is open at the breech and would not be satisfactory as a hand weapon.

The type of signal means used in the cartridge is immaterial, but in Fig. 1 a star shell 42 is shown similar to that used in the Very pistol. Beneath it is the wad 43 of felt ,or the like serving to hold it in position by engagement with the walls of the tube 25, and extending through this wad from the star shell are the slow acting fuses 44, the lower ends of which are ignited by the flash of the propelling charge 21. After the projectile has been fired from the tube the star shell is ignited upon the burning of .the fuses 44. The wads 43 insure that the fuses can not be ignited any closer to the star than the thickness of these wads and thus provide perfect timing for the signal.

In Fig. fl: is illustrated another form of ammunitionfor use in the same mortar. Here the cartridge tube 50 is quite short and is closed'by the lower plug 5i. It can be loaded through the muzzle of the mortar but must be extracted byremoving the barrel from the breech. It contains the same type of propelling charge 52 as in the form shown in Fig. 1 as well as the eyelet with the slow fuse and the igniter trainon the outer surface of thetube.

The projectile in this form is, however, entirely different and comprises a suitable tube 53 of cardboard closed at the bottom by a metal cap type described in connection with Fig. 1. This provides a delay fuse to ignite the ejecting charge 51 in the projectile from the propelling charge 52 in the cartridge shell at a definite interval afterthe projectile has been fired from the shell. On top of the charge 51 in the projectile is a suitable fire-resisting wad 5B and above that is the signal 59 which may be a flare, a star shell, a smoke shell, a high intensity illuminant, or any other desiredform of signal means. It is linked by suitable halyards 60 to the parachute 6| held in position in the projectile tube 53 by the closure wad 62 only sufiiciently tightly fitted to hold the parts assembled while the projectile is travelling but easily blown out by the force of the explosion of the ejecting charge 51. The arrangement of able means.

the same manner by an extension of the same tape which covers the igniter train.v

,In Fig. 5 is illustrated-another method of igniting the propelling charge. In this case the plug 65 which closes the lower end of the cartridge tube 66 is fitted centrally at its bottom with a percussion cap 61 connected by a delay action powder train 68, pressed in a bore in the plug, with the propelling charge 69.- A stationary firing pin 10 extending upwardly from the center of the breech plug is so positioned that when the projectile is dropped into the mortar the pin is struck by the percussion cap and ignites the same. 'The delay action fuse train permits theoperator to move safely away from the mortar before the propelling charge is ignited. Any suitable form of projectile can be used in. this cartridge but it is intended to be used with the same type of mortar as described in connection with Fig. 1 wherein the barrel is separable fromtkthe breech for safety purposes.

' Fig. 6 illustrates a self-contained signal intended for use on very small, privately-owned a mortar would be prohibitiveand a place for its use would be difficult to find. It is nothing more than a cartridge tube and its charge as shown in Fig. 1 with the closure plug extended boats' such as fishing craft Where the expense of a to form a handle 15-. The tube H on this handle is suflioiently heavy to act itself as the mortar bar rel and not be disrupted'by the propelling charge when ejecting the projectile. The tube H is sufllciently longto completely incase any form of projectile used and is equipped with the igniting train 12 extending in a belt around the tube whereby it can be conveniently scratched by the scratcher 13 on the plug 14 closing the end of the tube and protected by a tape. not shown; as described in connection with Fig. 3.

In Fig. '7 is shown a different form of'mortar of even simpler construction than that of Figs.

-1 and 2. It comprises a closed pipe flange 16 a simplefu se 82 which projects through the slot 19 and can be ignited with a match or other suit- In this form of ammunition the cartridge shell 8| maybe quite short and carries by a frictional fit the projectile as in the manner of Fig. 4. In this case the projectile includes not only the tube 83 of paper or the like but an outer covering 84 of tin or other suitable noncorrosive metal-to insure water proofing. The lower end 85 of this metal tube forms the sole closurefor the bottom of the projectile and may be. fitted with the eyelet 86 carrying a delay action fuse train. The projectile tube is prefer-- ably fitted with a suitable flare and parachute of' the type shown in Fig. 4.

In some cases it is desirable to use certain standard forms of signal ammunition in mortars for marine signalling purposes. This ammunition may be of the fixed type in which the cartridge case is equipped with ,a flanged base and a centrally located percussion cap. Such ammunitlon i." used in the portable fire arms previous- 'ly referred to and is readily available in most any port.

The type of mortar shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 permits the use of this ammunition while retaining the safety features of the forms of mortars previously described. The flanged base cartridge mustbe loaded into the mortar from the breech thereof and for this purpose the mortar has a barrel 90 provided with an integral enlarged base flange 9| recessed as at 92 to receive the flange on the cartridge. This base is pivoted, as by a removable pivot pin 93, to a closed breech member 94 having an upstanding peripheral flange 95 to closely receive the base iii. A second removable pin 96 engaging both the flange 9| and flange 95 serves to lock the barrel in position on the breech and the removal of this pin permits it to be hinged to a substantially horizontal position for loading. Of course a latch can be substituted for this pin. Removal of both'of the pins 93 and 96 permits the barrel to be entirely removed and stored as in the case of previous embodiments.

The breech member 94 forms the top closure for a casing 98 having a base 99 which can be secured to; the deck of a boat. Housed within this casing is any appropriate mechanism for operating the firing pin I00 for firingthe percussion cap in the base of the projectile.

Merely as an indication of the type of mechanism suitable for this purpose there is shown a hammer llll pivoted at I02 and braced upwardly by the leaf spring Hi3 toward the lower ward,- after firing, it will automatically set the' trigger to lock, the hammer and for the purpose of so setting the mechanism a push button Hilhas a rod HI 'slidable through the side wall of the chamber and ,provided on its end with a member H2 having an inclined-under-surface i i3 which engages above the hammer and presses.

it downward to set and lock the trigger as previously explained when the push button is pressed inward. On release the button and 'itsattached mechanism is withdrawn by the, spring lid.

A suitable safety lock 5 is provided whereby the trigger can be locked in hammer engaging position. This safety can be withdrawn by turning the handle H6 through 90 until the pin III will pass out through the slot 8 permitting the trigger to be drawn by a pull on the lanyard. The operation of this mechanism will'beobvious and is clear that the firing mechanism may'be' any of the well-known types either manually set, automatic or semi-automatic in operation.

I Having thus described .the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is: I

1. In a marine signal for use with amortar including a barrel open at one end, the combination of fixed ammunition comprising cartridges adaptedtoloosely fit said barrel, each cartridge including a cylindrical shell cortainin'g a propelling charge and a projectile, satprojectilc including a signal flare and means to ignite the same from the flash of the propelling charge, a fuse extending from the charge to the ex- ,terior of said shell and a scratch-ignitable lighting train extending from said ,fuse entirely around the cylindrical surface of said shell for cooperation with a scratcher.

2. In a marine signal, in combination, a mortar including a barrel open at the forward end,

- a breech plate for said barrel, fixed ammunition able train extending from said fuse along the side wall of said shell, said barrel having a slotlike opening above the breech for access to said train and a removable cap on the cartridge having a. projection fitted with scratching means adapted to be-extended through said barrel opening to ignite said train.

3. In a signal device, in combination, a. cartri'dge including a tubular shell containing a propelling charge and asignal flare, a fuse extending from said charge through said shell, a

. scratchable igniting train leading from said fuse pelling charge and a signal flare, a fuse extending from said charge through said shell and a friction ignitable train leading from said fuse substantially circumferentially of and along the outer surface of said shell.

5. In a signal device, in combination, a cartridge including a tubular shell containing a propelling charge and a signal flare, a fuse extending from said charge through said shell, a friction ignitable train leading from said fuse substantially circumferentially of and along the outer surface of said shell said trainrequiring friction. scratching with a complementary material for ignition, and removablev means attached to the cartridge and provided with such scratching material.

6. In a marine signal for use in a mortar, in combination, fixed ammunition adapted to be loaded through the mortar muzzle, each cartridge including a cylindrical shell having a ,closed bottom, a propelling charge in-said shell against said bottom, aprojectile having its lower end in said shell above said charge, a pyrotechnic having a barrel slotted'between the ends comprising, in combination, a cartridge case adapted tobe loaded into said barreLa pyrotechnic charge in said case, an expelling charge in said'case, a fuse extending through the side wall. of said cartridge caseinto said expelling charge, and a scratch ignitable train extending circumferentially about the outer surface of said case from said fuse and positioned to register with the barrel slot. a

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